202 J. B. CLELAND AND E. CHEEL. 



emerged from their volvas, it is quite reasonable to suppose 

 that the artist would be directed to represent the plant as 

 it would be supposed to appear at maturity, an elongation 

 of the stem being the result. In reality, however, as the 

 plant matures the whole stem enlarges rapidly, becom- 

 ing more or less uniformly cylindrical but tapering at the 

 summit, whilst its upper half is covered with the gleba. 



In further support of the view we hold, that our plants 

 belong to the same species as the two mentioned, it is 

 pointed out that we have obtained it on rotten wood on two 

 separate occasions in different localities on the Blue Moun- 

 tains, suggesting that it is not an uncommon species, and 

 is therefore likely to have been described. Further, when 

 collected all the specimens were immature, one only emerg- 

 ing during the night from its volva showing how different 

 the adult was from the immature form — immature speci- 

 mens being, therefore, those most likely to have been 

 collected. 



The description of our specimens is as follows : — The 'egg* 

 is more or less globular. On being opened at an early stage, 

 there appears a very slender white stem (A in. long), slightly 

 attenuated downwards, capped by a globular slightly rugose 

 dull sage-green head (f in. high) having a white apex with 

 a minute ostiolum (the sage-green material being the gleba, 

 the white apex a portion of the stem free from this). Later, 

 when the stem and its head are half-an-inch high, the two 

 together form an elongated inverted cone, the basal half 

 being white and vaguely transversely rugose, whilst the 

 distal half except at the apex is slightly rugose, being 

 covered with the dull sage-green gleba, the apex itself being 

 slightly raised and with a marked ostiolum. Covering the 

 gleba is an obscure wide-meshed whitish network, such as 

 may be seen on opening a Clathrus egg, attached to the 

 jelly-like material where this came in contact with the 



